The Alaska Senate rejected giving themselves and other state leaders automatic pay raises linked to inflation with the unanimous passage of a bill Friday, Feb. 7, declining a commission’s recommendation to implement such raises.
Senate Bill 87 rejects recommendations made Jan. 29 by the three-member State Officers Compensation Commission that would adjust salaries every two years for the Legislature, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and top officials at state agencies to match the Consumer Price Index — up or down — after the 2026 state election.
The recommendations will automatically take effect unless the Legislature passes a law negating the decision. The bill will next be considered by the House — both chambers have to pass legislation to send it to the governor for signature into law.
State legislators receive $84,000 per year in salary, plus per diem that is about $37,000 for living expenses while in Juneau. The governor currently is paid about $176,000 per year, the lieutenant governor about $140,000 and state commissioners about $168,000 per year.
Salary hikes for politicians are frequently controversial and Alaska’s lawmakers were subject to a barrage of criticism when a 67% pay raise was approved by the commission in March 2023. The change that eventually became law also included smaller increases for the governor, lieutenant governor and commissioners.
Sen. Bert Stedman, a Sitka Republican who co-chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said during Friday’s floor debate that giving top officials automatic hike adjusted to inflation is “the wrong thing to do” when many other state workers don’t have such guarantees.
“We recognize that there’s a lot of inflation pressure the last couple of years,” he said. “Salaries across the state are being adjusted, but they’re not so inclined to have automatic escalators.”
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